


Enjoy the Moment

by athenasdragon



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Emotional, Episode: The Day of the Doctor, F/M, Fluff, Post Episode: The Day of the Doctor, Post-Episode: The Day of the Doctor, Sad Ending, Spoilers for Episode: The Day of the Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-12 00:00:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4457561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenasdragon/pseuds/athenasdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Moment explores Rose's past and is intrigued. Deciding that she too wants to see the stars, she approaches Ten with an offer he can't refuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little bit older--it's something I threw together when I was still very emotional from seeing the special in theaters. I'm not as obsessed with Doctor Who as I used to be and my writing style has changed a bit since then, but I thought I'd throw this out there anyway! Please enjoy.

The War Doctor threw his head back and his arms in the air. “Bad Wolf Girl, I could kiss you!” ****

The smirking blonde who only he could see shook her head and chuckled. “Yeah, that’s going to happen.”

The Doctor in the brown suit jumped and looked around. “Wait, did you say ‘Bad Wolf’?”

The War Doctor nodded, joy in his eyes. “A girl from my future. The Moment chose her as the interface. She brought you here. She helped me to make the right choice.”

The Doctor in the bow tie shook his head. “We agreed to bring the TARDIS here. And I’m pretty sure that I’d remember if Rose was the Moment interface. And we need to go now.”

“She’s sitting right there,” the youngest Time Lord said, ignoring his older self and pointing to the crate on which the interface was sitting. She wasn’t paying much attention to the men in front of her, too busy swinging her grey-stockinged legs to care. She glanced up and her sparkling amber eyes suddenly met those of the two confused men in front of her. “I think she’s only choosing to appear to me right now.”

One Doctor ground the toe of his Converse sneaker into the loose sand and gulped at the idea of Rose sitting a few feet away from him and not being able to see her. The other Doctor tried to suppress the emotions that the mention of her name still brought to him, mostly so that his younger self would think that he was over her.

The Moment was suddenly hit with the force of their emotions. Regret, sadness, friendship, loss… love? These men were centuries old, had met thousands of people, and had lost nearly that many. Their focus on the girl who she was manifesting was intriguing. She sifted through their memories and bit her simulated lip. The War Doctor looked confused and a bit antsy to get on his way. She shrugged and grinned with her tongue between her teeth. If she wanted to do any experimentation, it could happen later.

She tilted her head toward the TARDIS. “Time to get going, isn’t it?” she asked the War Doctor. He nodded.

“What did she say?” the Doctor with the Converse asked as all three men and Clara jogged into their ships.

* * *

 

The three Doctors grinned at each other. They had saved their home and their friends, and it was time for them to go their separate ways.

“Maybe we can make that our new destination,” the one with the Converse suggested, “because when it comes to Trenzalore, I don’t want to go.”

The Moment winced from her position in the corner. She was invisible to all three men now, but she was still psychically linked to them. The one with the chin was shuddering on the inside with the pain and desperation that that phrase didn’t yet hold for the younger version of himself.

She directed her partially-physical form to skip into the TARDIS behind the Doctor who had spoken. While her physical form was safe in the time-locked haven of “Gallifrey Falls No More,” she hadn’t been able to shrug the memory of the deep sorrow which remained in the Doctor’s heart because of this Bad Wolf- or, rather, the human form named Rose Tyler.

She realized that she could either stay in the horrible, dusty warehouse where she had been kept for so long, or she could keep this form for a while longer and get out and see the universe. In this way, she felt a connection to the young human who had jumped at the same opportunity… when? She still had problems with linear time.

As the blue door swung shut behind her, she closed her eyes and let her mind expand to reach all of the minds and devices on Earth. In one shuddering jolt, she “downloaded” everything to do with the Rose Tyler that the Doctor had known, including all of his own memories. She practiced smiling and pouting to herself a few times, then altered her appearance slightly to look more like the 21 st -Century human that she was trying to imitate. The she made herself visible to the Doctor.

He didn’t notice her at first, but it was obvious when he did. “Gallifrey saved, 2.47 billion children who never died. Brilliant. Well, I suppose I am, aren’t I? I just…    ROSE!”

The Moment smiled but didn’t advance, and neither did the Time Lord. Tendrils of shimmering happiness reached unabashedly towards her, but she could tell that he was still being cautious. She could have timed it just right and reappeared as his memory was being erased, and then her whole job would have been done. But she had seen into the Doctor’s mind. She knew him. And she wanted to give him a choice.

“I am not Rose Tyler. I am also not the Bad Wolf. I am the Moment.”

The Doctor gulped and the tendrils of happiness retracted. “Are you here to erase my memories?”

“No.” The girl with the blue-jeans and ponytail wandered closer to the heart of the console room, where she could feel the TARDIS trying to cope with the strange mix of two familiar minds. “I am here to try and escape the painting for a while. In a few minutes, your memory of today’s events will be gone. I can then implant a false memory of your Rose Tyler finding a way to get back to you. You won’t have any idea that it’s not the real Rose. All of the things you wished you had said to her, all of the places you wanted to take her…” The Moment paused as she rummaged through her new memories. “Barcelona? With the dogs with no noses?” She smiled the tongue-between-teeth smile that she knew made the Time Lord’s hearts beat double time. “Otherwise, you could ask me to leave now. I would erase my semi-physical form and return to Gallifrey within the painting. Either way, I would go back there eventually. I can’t maintain this form forever. You would have to lose Rose Tyler again, but this time you would be prepared.”

The Doctor’s mind raced and tumbled, too caught up in the cries of “Rose! Rose!” to allow him to think over things the way he wanted to. As much as he knew that it wouldn’t be the real Rose (was it selfish for him to have her when she couldn’t have him?), it wasn’t more than a few seconds before he croaked out “Yes. I want… I want to have a little more time with her. I just have one request.”

“Of course.”

“Only stay with me for a week. And if I ever meet the real Rose Tyler again, you have to permanently erase my memories of this time.”

The Moment thought for… well, a moment. She had hoped to get away for longer than a week, but the opportunity to play human and see the stars was too good to pass up. She grinned again, switching to Rose’s accent. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

The Doctor grimaced, knowing deep down that he was cheating somehow. He was just beginning to question whether the Moment had an ulterior motive when a burst of regeneration-like energy obscured his eyes. He staggered backwards into the console, waving his hands and trying to eradicate the buzzing that had filled his head. A pair of familiar, warm hands caught him.

“Rose?”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and "Rose" spend some time together.

He looked up into the eyes of the girl that he hadn’t seen in decades now. He was confused. How could she be here? She was supposed to be trapped in Pete’s World. He jumped upright and pointed his sonic at her to begin scanning.

“You can’t be the real Rose.”

“Ask me anything.” The blonde spread her arms wide, smiling that glorious, warm smile that always made his hearts dance and his stomach leap.

“Um…. What did we have on our first date?”

“Chips.” She put a finger to her chin in mock consideration. “I _do_ believe that you also thought it would be a good idea to show me the destruction of my own planet. You certainly know how to give a girl a good time!”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as the tests began to come back as completely, utterly, perfectly human. “Satellite Five. We were there twice. Which young men where with us each time?”

“Adam. The bloke with the opening in his head now.” She made a circular gesture at her own forehead, then grinned as she snapped her fingers. “I wonder how that’s going for him.

“The other was Jack. Captain Jack Harkness,” she repeated in a mock-serious tone that made him chuckle. “American savior of London during World War II. Handsome young man.”

“I didn’t ask about me yet,” the Doctor joked, losing sight of his questioning. Rose giggled, and he started. There was something… ethereal about it. He shook himself. However she got here, she must have gone through the void. It was probably just Void Stuff messing up his superior Time Lord Senses.

Her gaze softened along with her smile. “C’mon, Doctor. You know that it’s me. Don’t you want to hear how brilliant I was in finding a way back to you?” He nodded slowly. “We should go get chips. For old time’s sake.” He nodded again, failing to notice the slight tug at the corner of his mind which was helping him along. “We can talk over chips. And maybe a Coke. Or a milkshake. I’m starving.”

That got him. He grinned and leaped onto her in a tight hug, from which embrace she squeaked good-naturedly and hugged him back.

“Rose Tyler. My brilliant, incredible Rose,” he breathed into her hair, and he could see a light blush creep up her neck. “I am never going to let you go again.”

She pulled back, her eyes sad, and she didn’t have to say anything. It wasn’t going to work like that. He looked into her distraught eyes and decided that they could work on a solution later. He was, after all, brilliant.

* * *

 

The Moment sipped her chocolate milkshake- she had never tasted one before, and somehow it was better than experiencing it through someone else’s memories- and listened to some long tale that the Doctor was spinning about Queen Elizabeth. She laughed in all the appropriate places and reveled in the firm warmth of his hand in hers. Just as she folded another soggy, vinegar-soaked chip into her mouth, the Doctor reached the punch line of his story and she spat out bits of potato as she laughed.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was examining her. His earlier doubts about her not being exactly right were quickly receding, but he couldn’t forget what her last words to him had been. “I love you.” And now here she was, laughing at his daft story and eating chips and holding his hand, much like they had done when they were just mates. He didn’t know what to think, but the suspense was killing him. The longer he waited for her to mention the incident, the further away his courage to breach the subject slipped.

“Doctor,” she finally said after he finished his story.

“Yeah, Rose.” He smiled fondly at her.

“Do you want to know how I came across?”

“Of course.”

The Moment thought for a moment, reviewing what she knew of physics versus what the Doctor knew and what he would expect Rose to know.

“Well,” she eventually began, “Imagine a see-saw, right? Well, when one person travels from one universe to the other, it unbalances the see-saw. As long as you go back quickly it’s ok, but if you stay for too long, the whole thing collapses. Our solution is to make a switch- when I come over here, we bring a bit of water with my approximate mass over to the other universe.”

The Doctor thought for a moment. “Ok, I suppose that might work. But matter is fundamentally connected to the universe that it’s from, and it doesn’t want to be in a different one for very long. How are you working on that?”

“Well,” what the Doctor thought to be Rose smiled, “Since you asked, I’m the one to worry about because I’m more complex than a bunch of water. And I’m already from this universe, but I’ve spent plenty of time in the other one, too, so I can survive indefinitely in either without using up tons of energy. It’s a bit like… a rubber band. It can stretch for a while, but the longer it sits, the harder it is to keep it up. That’s why we rotate out the water- we just keep bringing in new water from this universe, then sending it back and getting more…”

The Doctor gaped at her. “That’s a ridiculous amount of energy! After you reach a certain length of trip, it would be impossible to find enough energy in the world to power that transporter!”

“That’s why I can only stay for a week.”

Both of his hearts plummeted. Thoughts of another goodbye already swirled through his mind, and he choked a little bit on the rush of emotion. Rose looked concerned and offered him a sip of her milkshake, which he accepted.

“Are you sure?” He honestly thought that he might cry, but he clenched the fist that wasn’t holding Rose’s hand.

She looked even more concerned, and now her own sadness appeared on her face, too. She stroked circled on his hand with her soft thumb and scooted a little closer across the plastic bench on which they sat. “Yeah. And, this time…” she paused, and her lip trembled a little, too. “This time it’s for good. I’m sorry Doctor!” she cried as he let out a small sob. It was only a second before he regained his composure, but the Moment was beginning to understand the complex human emotions that she was feeling. She wasn’t sure if she liked it.

“Doctor…” she moved so close to him that she was almost sitting in his lap. “I thought you would want this. You know, a chance to spend some more time together, then say a proper goodbye on our own terms.” He nodded sadly. “And… I wanted it, too. There was something you were going to say to me when I left last time.”

“I love you.” He said it in a rush, still looking at his lap, and she leaned closer as though she hadn’t heard him. His double pulse thundered in his ears like a melting year on Woman Wept. Did he still have time to take it back? Pretend it hadn’t happened? Could his hearts take another break?

“Doctor?”

The Doctor jerked his head up to realize this his nose was almost touching Rose’s. For a split second, he thought that he might have seen a glimmer of gold in her eye, but then it was gone. Fortunately, her soft, pink lips were still there. He leaned forward a fraction of an inch, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the Moment.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye again

The Moment sighed. She liked the Doctor, she really did, and it was hurting her to see him this sad. She tried to be brave for him, just like she knew Rose would have, but it was difficult.

Just as she had suggested, they had visited Barcelona. As Rose, she and the Doctor had roamed around the rich marketplaces. The planet was remarkably similar to the Earth that the Doctor was so fond of, except for the dogs with no noses. She made sure to point this out to him.

The rest of the week had been a mix of loud, insane impromptu adventures and sweet evenings spent watching movies or mornings making tea and eating with hands entwined. The Moment knew that she was just a projection of memories, but it became harder and harder to separate herself from Rose Tyler.

Now the Doctor was trying not to cry. She had projected a fairly convincing space-time ripple outside the door of the TARDIS where it had landed in a lonely field in Northern England. Their hands were clasped. Their foreheads leaned against each other. It was time to say goodbye.

“I don’t want you to go,” the Doctor mumbled, “but I understand why you have to.”

Rose cupped his cheek with her palm. “I don’t want to go either.” She ducked to look into his eyes. “Physics is a pain, right?”

He smiled weakly. “Yeah.”

The Moment jerked a little bit towards the portal, causing the Doctor to grab her shoulders with a wild look in his eyes.

“Doctor.” She gently slid his hands down to his sides and took a step back. He looked hurt, and a tear slid down her cheek. She wasn’t sure if Rose was crying or if the Moment was crying. “I have to go now. The void is pulling me back through; they must have stopped cycling out the water. But I love you.”

“I love you too.” The words had been said enough now that there was no hesitation. “Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth. Bad Wolf. My Rose.” The Doctor suddenly burst into a sunny smile, startling the Moment. “I’m not going to give up. We’ve gone back and forth before, we can figure something out again.”

The Moment smiled sadly. “I hope so, Doctor. In that case, I’ll see you around.” And with that, she disappeared into thin air.

The Doctor blinked as she disappeared, allowing the tears to spill over now that she was out of sight. He spun slowly on his heel and trekked back into the TARDIS, where he leaned against the wall for a moment and thought melancholy thoughts.

He glanced up at the TARDIS console, suddenly wondering why his eyes were watering so much. “Hey there Old Girl. Didn’t the Ood want to talk to me?”

The TARDIS hummed a purple, melodious affirmative. He smiled at the familiar feeling of her in his mind.

“You might want to do a little dusting in here. I think it’s making my eyes water.”

The TARDIS huffed to herself as the Doctor ran off to change his dusty sneakers. Then she gently withdrew from his mind and cast out to look for the Moment. Her search was met by an orange-green aura emanating from the painting in the Black Vault, exactly where it should be. She quickly transferred her memory of wiping the Doctor’s mind and received a relieved blue feeling. She would have smiled if she had a face, but settled for dusting as the Doctor had asked and raising the hallway temperature by a few degrees to express her comfort. Then she released a light orange scent to wipe out any traces of Rose’s perfume.

She probed at the Moment’s memories to find out how long her Doctor would have to wait to remember that his planet was safe, and discovered a thought of him visiting Rose one last time. She skimmed over the pain of the regeneration and pulled a small amount of her thief’s peaceful feeling from that meeting. Without him realizing it, she transferred it to his mind, giving him a new spring in his step. Then she said goodbye to the Moment, who she had come to like and intended to talk to again, and settled into the light hibernation that allowed her to mull over her own thoughts.


End file.
